FC Dallas also benefits from trip to Midland

Jonathan HullMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:14 pm, Tuesday, June 21, 2011

For a second straight year, the West Texas United Sockers pulled out a victory against Major League Soccer's FC Dallas.

But in truth, the result -- a 3-2 loss to the Sockers -- of Tuesday's match Grande Communications Stadium wasn't terribly important. While there's no doubt FC Dallas would have preferred leaving Midland with a victory, everyone involved in the match benefited from the experience.

"This is a great experience. This is our third year to come out here. We're treated extremely well and we look forward to it," FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. "We had a good game. The last two years we haven't come out very well here. But I think that's a testament to what's going on out here in Midland."

FC Dallas came out to Midland with only a handful of players from their MLS roster with the match against the Sockers providing an opportunity to get some experience for its reserve squad.

"(The reserve system) has been huge," Hyndman said. "It's a system where the games mean something and they get pressure put on them. They train in a very structured system."

The reserve system benefits many players who otherwise wouldn't receive much time on the pitch outside of practice. That includes forward Andrew Wiedeman.

Wiedeman was FC Dallas' second-round selection of the 2010 MLS Draft out of the University of California, Berkeley. Against the Sockers, Wiedeman scored on a diving header set up by a cross pass by midfielder Ravid Gazal, tying the match 2-2 in the 66th minute.

The second-year forward says the team enjoys making the visit to Midland each year.

"This is a good squad," Wiedeman said of the Sockers. "They've got good fans out here and it makes for a good atmosphere. It's also an opportunity to get our name out to a different part of Texas. This was a good game for us. Most of the guys who played (Tuesday) don't get in too many games."

Wiedeman also notes the reserve squad has seen a significant increase in the number of matches it has been able to play in this year compared to last season.

"There's only so much you can do to impress the coaches in practice," Wiedeman said. "There's nothing better than getting into games and performing in game situations. Last year, we only had three or four games we got to play in compared to this year where we've played in 15 to 20. It's just huge for the experience."

Who knows if Wiedeman will still be making the trip to Midland next season, but from the way Hyndman talks, there will be some contingent from FC Dallas visiting the Tall City again for the foreseeable future.

"As the sport continues to grow in the state of Texas, we've had many opportunities to play exhibition games," Hyndman said, "but we've passed on some opportunities because we want (playing in Midland) to become one of our fixtures."